Sharing the road with other commuters

Drivers of Heavy Goods Vehicles and Vans from across the region have been hitting the streets of Cambridge to find out what it feels like to be a vulnerable road user.

Making the transition from the cab to the saddle gives them the opportunity to ‘exchange places’ and understand what hazards cyclist face and how the traffic and environment affects road users in different ways.

The Safe Urban Driving (SUD) and Van Smart (VS) courses, delivered in conjunction with Fleet Source, combines theory and practical training to help drivers build an understanding of why some cyclists act the way they do, tackles common misconceptions about cycling and challenges them to think differently about how to interact with cyclists.

Many of the participants are not regular cyclists and some haven’t ridden since leaving school but after a few hours of training, delivered by Outspoken’s qualified instructors, participants are confidently cycling in amongst HGV’s and buses on some of the busiest roads in Cambridge.

Stuart Meadows, Head of Instructor Development, said :

“It’s incredible to see the change in attitudes when comparing the initial discussions to the end of the practical session. Beaming smiles and laughter replace the initial anxious looks and nervousness, it’s great to see the transformation”.

Outspoken have helped delivered 5 courses in 2018 resulting in over 100 drivers of large goods vehicles being more aware of the reasons why cyclists are considered as vulnerable road users. With many more courses planned let’s hope we can continue building positive relations between the users of these very different forms of transport.

For more information on our SUD and VS courses delivered in partnership with Fleet Source together with our Instructor Training course to deliver these, please visit our web page.